1,500 luxury items found in ex-land min Saifuzzaman’s flat
A special team from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has concluded a two-day operation at two Gulshan apartments belonging to Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed, the controversial former Land Minister of the ousted Awami League government.
During the raid on the building located at Plot 11, Northwest Block B, Road 66 in Gulshan, the ACC team recovered a total of 269 categories of items; in terms of actual count, the total number of individual items exceeds 1,500. Approximately 1,135 items were recovered from Apartment A-7, and around 400 items were recovered from Apartment B-7.
On Monday (July 20), Tanjir Ahmed, the Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) Assistant Director (Public Relations), stated that a team led by ACC Deputy Director Md. Moshiur Rahman conducted the operation. In compliance with court directives, inventory work was carried out yesterday and today.
A vast quantity of assets was discovered upon entering the former Land Minister’s flat and conducting the inventory; preliminary counts indicate the presence of 269 items.
The recovered items include over 300 coats, more than 532 ties, eight watch boxes (including four for Rolex watches), approximately 100 *kamiz* (tunics), pearl jewelry, a chandelier, beds, sofas, air conditioners, ceiling fans, a treadmill, a refrigerator, suitcases, chairs, tables, and more.
According to the purchase receipts for the Rolex watches recovered from the residence, the price of each watch ranges from $14,000 to $17,500 USD.
Following the fall of the Awami League government in 2024, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) initiated an investigation against Saifuzzaman. The ACC has filed multiple cases against him on charges of irregularities and corruption.
Former Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, his wife—and former Chairperson of UCB Bank—Rukmila Zaman, along with employees of his company and around fifty officials and staff members of United Commercial Bank, have been named as accused in these cases.
Following the court order issued on July 2, the ACC took control of two of Saifuzzaman’s flats in Gulshan to ensure their proper control, management, supervision, and maintenance.
The court’s letter states that a Director of the ACC (Asset Management Unit) has been appointed as the receiver to ensure the proper control, management, supervision, and maintenance of assets held in the names of the former Land Minister and persons associated with him—specifically, a 3,747-square-foot flat (Flat A-7) and a 3,832-square-foot flat (Flat B-7) located at Plot No. 11, Road No. 66, Block-Northwest (B), Gulshan, Dhaka.
The letter states that Md. Niloy Rahman, Assistant Commissioner (Land) of the Gulshan Revenue Circle, has been appointed as an Executive Magistrate to oversee the entry into the flat and the inventory of the goods.
Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed served as the State Minister for Land from 2014 to 2018 and as the Minister of the same ministry from 2019 to 2023.
